Seed of Hope
by digiblue00
Summary: A mysterious figure... all dressed in white... who is this figure and how is Soujirou involved in all this? Entire Story EDITED. FINISHED in time for X'MAS! Merry X'mas to all!
1. Prologue: Shrouded in Mystery

**Seed of Hope  
**Prologue: Shrouded in Mystery

**(A/N: Hey peeps! I'm back! Yes, I know I haven't been updating my fanfics for a VERY LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG while, but it's coz I'm currently suffering from writer's block and don't know how to continue them, but if you have any suggestions as to how the story should go then you can email me or you can add it in the review. Thank you! On with the story!)**

The sun shone down brightly on the busy streets of Kyoto. Everywhere you looked, the street seemed to hustle and bustle with life and the air was filled with the joyous laughter of children playing and the chattering of ladies as they walked around, baskets filled with groceries hanging from their arms.

The picture looked like it came out of a picture postcard, however just when you thought things couldn't have looked any happier, the sound of screams pierced the air and the beautiful picture was shattered into a thousand pieces. A group of children had been playing in the street when the carriage had gone out of control and the driver was unable to tame the frightened beast. The carriage was headed straight for the children. The two older brothers seeing the carriage had sensed the danger and ran away panicking leaving their little sister behind. The poor girl could only watch in fear as the carriage loomed closer and closer.

At that moment, just as the carriage was about to collide straight into the girl, a figure clad in white seemed to appear from nowhere and rush to the aid of the little girl, pushing her out of harm's way. The little girl looked up at the figure, but she could not make out a face. The figure walked up to the girl's mother and silently placed the girl in front of her mother.

"Okaa-san!" The girl said happily to her mother, whose face now matched the colour of snow.

"Sakura-chan!" The girl's mother, seeing that her only daughter was safe and sound seemed to awake from her reverie, picked up the five-year-old and lovingly embraced her as tears of happiness and relief streamed down her face.

"Arigatou! Arigatou! How can I ever thank you?" The lady said profusely as she made the inclination to bow to the figure in white. The figure seemed to panic and made to help the lady stand. The figure just waved its hands in a gesture that said 'no'.

Just as the figure made to walk away, the little girl tugged at the figure's white cloak.

"My name is Sakura, arigatou for saving me. Erm… ano…is it alright if you lifted up your hood so that I can see you?"

The figure seemed to tense up momentarily. With shaking hands, it slowly lifted its hands to its head and made to remove its hood. Gently, inch by inch, the white cloth was painstakingly removed and the lady's eyes widened in horror. A large crowd had gathered around the group to the spectacle. They looked on in anticipation as the mysterious figure finally revealed its identity. As the sun shone on the figure's hood, the crowd held its breath…

The hood was now almost off, pale white skin could now be seen underneath it, however before anything could be said, the figure replaced the hood back on its head and walked away.

The crowd watched with mixed feelings of shock and curiousity as the figure walked away from the large group.

"Wait"

Stopping, the figure turned to look at the one named Sakura as the little girl cling onto the white fabric. Sakura motioned for the figure to come closer as she whispered into its ear.

"I hope you find it soon." Giving the figure a big hug, the little girl smiled as the retreating back of the figure.

"Good luck…" The encouraging words of little Sakura's hang in the air as the figure smiled at the little girl's innocence and naiveté, she didn't do anything to deserve such a fate and neither did the people…

**(A/N: Yes, this is an edited and updated version of the prologue. If you guys have been wondering what happened to me, I'll tell you that I had caught pneumonia and had to be sent to the intensive care unit, after which I had to stay in the hospital for a period of 13 days. Hopefully you guys can understand that in my weakened state I couldn't update this fic. So, now that I have been released, I'm going to edit this fic and hopefully will be able to type out a new chapter soon. Hope that you guys will understand and still continue to support this fic. Thanks!)**


	2. Chapter 1: Dangers

**Seed of Hope  
**Chapter 1: Dangers

**(A/N: Haha! Oh man, it's just sooo fun to read the reviews I have received, but thanks for taking the time off to review this lil' ficcie of mine, it means so much to me sniffs  
Anyways, like I said I'm not revealing who the person in white is and the only reason I refer to the "white figure" as a "thing" is, if I use he/she then their identity will be exposed, but don't worry all will be revealed:D and I'm sure at that time you would know what pairing it is, but as a hint, if you read my bio then you'll know what kind of RK pairing I normally write about. Shall end crap here, on with the story!)**

**_Disclaimer: I rule the universe! Muahahahaha! chokes on a mentos_**

The rain was coming down in buckets and buckets, never letting up for a second. The bleak and dark atmosphere could only be mirrored by the feelings of those still traveling on the road unable to get out of the rain. The number of people on the streets slowly dwindled until there was hardly anyone left, only a few could only be seen left hiding under the roofs of the buildings, glad for the shelter from the cold.

The light from the stars could hardly be seen, however if one looked closely under the faint glimmer of the stars, one could slowly make out a figure, walking on the streets, battling the harsh elements. This figure was clothed all in blue, his clothes all tattered and torn- hardly what one would wear, especially on a night like that. This human, if he could be called one, was in such a terrible and pitiable condition looked to be about 17 or 18 and yet despite his condition he wore a smile on his face.

Soujirou smiled to himself as he walked along the streets, what he had predicted to be an innocent drizzle had turned out much worse and he had not yet found a place to stay for the night.

"I guessed I must have underestimated you," Soujirou said facing the sky and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the raindrops caressing his face.

It had been two years since he had left Shishio and taken up the life of a rurouni. He had been wandering for so long, he knew it would take him a long time to seek for his answers, but he couldn't help but feel a little impatient. The only thing he felt that he could truly feel glad for was his being given a second chance to live life once again. Soujirou sneezed and shifted the weight of his satchel on his left shoulder; he could feel the weight of his wet clothes slowly pulling him down. Soujirou's stomach gave a little growl and he rubbed his head in embarrassment. He had forgotten that it had been two days since he ate his last meal. His stomach gave another rumble; maybe he should get out of the rain and get under shelter. Looking around, Soujirou spotted a signboard belonging to that of an old restaurant.

As he stepped inside, he immediately regretted it. The acrid smell of liquor and cigarette smoke filled his nostrils and he felt giddy. He turned to walk away when suddenly he felt not one, but two pairs of arms tugging and pulling at his yukata. He looked to find two beautiful ladies in matching red and purple kimonos with golden plum blossoms.

"Hey there," the two crooned, "Where are you going? Why don't you come and sit with us?" Soujirou was at a loss of words, as the two ladies kept touching him. Being the polite boy he was he tried to refuse them and walk away, but the two ladies despite their frail appearance kept clinging onto him.

"Aww, come on, we won't bite… much, just play with us for a while, I'm sure you'll have a good time…" Came a voice on his right.

"Gomenasai, demo... I can't stay, please let go of me. Please" Soujirou begged, hoping against hope that they'll let go.

Surprisingly it worked and secretly heaving a sigh of relief. Soujirou turned to leave through when he heard the unmistakable sound of someone crying, or to be precise, bawling. He then realised that it was the two ladies that were clinging on to him that were bawling. Soujirou was too scared to move, he had never been in such a situation before, what was one supposed to do? Scared, the poor boy tried his best to calm down the two ladies, when he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Sensing something was wrong, his reflexes kicked in and his hand automatically flew to the hilt of his katana.

The footsteps got closer and closer and almost as suddenly as they were heard- they stopped. Soujirou looked up and saw a huge man. The clothes the man wore were loose and the smell of sake clung to him like a second skin. The man towered over Soujirou by at least two heads.

Silently sniggering at Soujirou's size, he looked down at Soujirou and boomed, "What's the matter boy? My daughters not pretty enough for you or is my place not good enough for you"

Not knowing what to say, Soujirou remained silent. The tension in the air was thick; one could no longer cut it with a knife. Seconds passed and both parties refused to say a word. Everyone in the restaurant was now staring at the scene that was slowly unfolding. The uncomfortable silence was only broken when the man said, "You barge into my restaurant, make my girls cry and now you expect to leave? I don't think so."

Soujirou checked his pockets, he was hoping that by some small miracle that maybe, just maybe he would have enough money to pay the man and hopefully he would be able to get out of the place without making too much of a scene- it was too much to ask for, all he had were a few coins that just barely made up the cost of a small bun.

"Is that all?" The man asked, "Well then, I'm afraid I'm just gonna have to teach you a lesson about being polite!" With that, the man snapped his fingers and suddenly a group of big burly men appeared.

Soujirou mentally counted the number of men. There were 12 altogether. He could easily take them out. He placed himself in position and started to ready himself for his shukuchi. He advanced upon on the group, ignoring the many cries of surprise and quickly took out five of them with the sheath of his sword. He was about to attack the other seven when he began to feel dizzy. He stopped for a while to catch his breath, his head was starting to feel hot and heavy and it was becoming harder and harder to breathe, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stay out in that rain for so long. He mentally chided himself; this wasn't the time to be worrying about a little headache.

Feeling slightly better after catching his breath, he was about to attack the sixth man, but before he could move, he felt his headache becoming more painful by the minute and his vision was now blurring, he found himself slowing down and his energy was quickly draining out of him. As he made one last attempt to stand up with the aid of his katana, someone gave him a sharp kick in the leg and giving in to the pain and the terrible fever that was now engulfing his senses; he dropped onto the floor with a loud thump that echoed throughout the restaurant.

Scared by what they saw, the onlookers shunned their eyes from the terrible sight as the group of thugs continuously punched and kicked the poor youth who now lay on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

"See what you made me do? If only you had been a little nicer," the man said as he gave the now almost unconscious Soujirou a nudge with his foot. "You should be grateful boy, I could have easily made my men kill you, but seeing that I'm such a kind and forgiving man, I shall let you go… but not without a little parting gift…"

At that, Soujirou could feel himself being roughly placed into a sitting position. He gingerly opened his eyes only to see the two ladies in the very revealing kimonos approach him smiling a little too sweetly. The lady in purple held him up, while the other held a tiny porcelain bowl. She smiled seductively at him and drank the contents of the bowl and turning his head to face hers, fed him the liquid by mouth. The liquid felt very cold and Soujirou could feel himself shiver involuntarily. The two ladies left him and almost immediately, another two pairs of arms grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and dragged him out into the rain.

Soujirou had not yet swallowed the liquid, but upon contact with the ground the liquid found its way into his throat. The liquid burned the inside of his throat and tears quickly filled his eyes. By now, he found it hard even to move any muscle and his vision was slowly becoming obscured with tears. No one noticed the body that lay in the rain, no one save for the lone figure in white that stood under the tree

**(A/N: Chapter 1 now edited, thank you for supporting this fic. Hope that you guys will still read it after so long. Also I would like to say again that the katana Soujirou is holding onto is his own and that Kenshin did not give him that katana. Hope that clears up any misunderstandings.) **

**Rock on!**

**Babyblue899 **


	3. Chapter 2: Meeting You

**Seed of Hope  
****Chapter 2: Meeting You**

**(A/N: Wow, I can't believe it. I going to do some REALLY MAJOR overhaul in this chapter, so bear with me. Thanks for all your support in this fic, really appreciate it. Will try my best to put up my the new chapters soon, especially since now that I have to stay at home and recuperate after my 13-day stay at the hospital. Enjoy!)**

Soujirou stirred, his eyes still felt extremely heavy and it seemed to be asking too much of his body to open his eyes. Gingerly bringing his hand up to his forehead, he tried his best to recall earlier events. The recollection of things proved too much in his weakened state and he could feel himself slipping back into unconsciousness.

Remembering where he was, the poor boy tried his best to get up. It wouldn't do to find himself being yelled at in the middle of the street by an angry carriage-driver, especially since he had not the mind nor the strength and of course the money to calm the angry driver. In extreme discomfort he began to mentally will himself to get up. He was not ready for the pain that would come. The injuries he had sustained from the fight seemed to have reopened and he could feel the familiar warmth of blood coursing down his leg from where the man had kicked him.

Inwardly groaning, he lay back down, when he realised that something was wrong. If he had been lying in the middle of a busy street, where was the familiar chattering of ladies as they did their grocery shopping? How come no one had yelled at him for blocking their way? Where was the supposed carriage driver who was supposed to be screaming at him? Questions began to fill his head and the former Tenken instinctively began to reach out for his katana… only to find that he was weaponless and his shirt along with his yukata was gone!

The former Tenken could now feel a feeling akin to fear. Trying his best to get up again, the boy struggled to move his limbs, only to hear the sound of laughter coming from his right.

"I wouldn't try to move if I were you. You were hurt pretty bad when I found you. You have two broken ribs, a broken left arm and a sprained right ankle."

"Wh- what? Who are you?"

Soujirou's question remained unanswered as the person helped him to sit up. It was then he realised that he was lying on a tatami mat.

"Here, drink this."

Soujirou slowly sipped the cool drink, enjoying the feel of the liquid entering his throat. It was pure bliss. Lying back down on the tatami mat, Soujirou felt his strength slowly return to him and that he could at last open his eyes. Gently, Soujirou opened his eyes. At last, he could see the face of his benefactor and thank him or her personally.

Soujirou looked around, only to find that everything was covered in darkness. There was something wrong with his sense of sight, he couldn't see a thing. He had become blind! The poor boy started to panic, he now knew what his victims must have felt before he had killed them. Before anything else could be done, he heard a familiar voice.

"You do not have to worry rurouni. You only temporarily lost your sense of sight, you will regain it soon enough."

Soujirou heaved a sigh of relief at the stranger's words. Strangely enough, he found himself believing what the person had said. He found it weird that he should take comfort in those words, especially since he did not know who the person was.

Lying back onto the tatami mat, Soujirou closed his eyes again. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to lose his sense of sight. Perhaps it was meant to be. Fate worked in such mysterious ways...

**(A/N: End of the EDITED chapter 2, hope that you guys will still support this fic. Thanks) **


	4. Chapter 3: Dreams of Old

**Seed of Hope  
****Chapter 3: Dreams of Old**

**(A/N: Ok, this is edited chapter number 3! Hope you guys are still with me. On with the chappie!)**

_**Disclaimer: I have never and will never owe the Rurouni Kenshin series, so get that out of your system**_

Soujirou looked around him, he couldn't see anything. The darkness was fast closing in around him. He searched for any sign of life, anything at all to assure him that he was still alive and breathing. Groping his way in the darkness, he stuck his right arm out, hoping to maybe find a wall of some sort to guide his way. To his immense relief, he felt his skin momentarily graze something that felt akin to the touch of someone else's skin. Before he could do anything though, the other person had found his hand and now was violently pulling at it. Confused, Soujirou tried his best to retaliate, but to no avail.

Suddenly, as if by magic the darkness seemed to clear like a rainbow after a storm. He looked around, he was now standing in the middle of a field. To his left was a large was a large wooden house and on his right there stood three even larger houses. Just then, he felt the same person pulling his arm again, and he looked up to meet the familiar eyes… of his older cousin.

Try as he might, there was nothing that he could do. He could not escape from the grip of his cousin. Tripping over a stone, he fell face first into the ground. He was roughly gripped by his collar and dragged in the direction of the large wooden house. From within the house, Soujirou watched as the shoji door slid open. The face he saw made his blood ran dry.

There in the doorway, stood his uncle drunk as ever.

"I caught him out in the fields pops, must have been trying to escape again."

"You bastard! Trying to sneak away again huh? Looks like its time for me to teach you another lesson in discipline!" With that statement, Soujirou found himself pinned to the ground and surrounded by his two cousins. The two then proceeded to attack Soujirou, kicking and punching him reveling at the sight of Soujirou curling himself into a tiny ball in defense. Then, almost as suddenly as their attacks came, they stopped. Soujirou looked up only to see the taller of his two cousins glaring sharply at him.

"What are you smiling at, you little bastard?"

To that, Soujirou could not help but to smile an even wider smile. He wasn't smiling out of happiness; he was smiling out of instinct. He didn't know why, but something in him was telling him that if he smiled, it wouldn't be as bad as him crying. At that moment, Soujirou looked up, just in time to see the older of his cousins swinging his now unsheathed katana towards his right. Panicking, Soujirou quickly dodged to his left narrowly missing his cousin's attack by a few centimeters. Looking at a tiny puddle in the ground, Soujirou was shocked to find himself staring at his ten-year-old self, but before he could ponder about anything else he had to jump out to avoid being slashed again.

"A fast one eh? We'll see about that, come here you little brat!"

Finding strength in his knees, Soujirou got up and ran for his life. He ran as fast as he could not knowing where he was going. He raced past the house, past the fields, hoping against hope to find somewhere he could hide. Running aimlessly, he found himself coming face to face with the door that led right into the three warehouses. Relief coursing through him and his heart palpitating, he pushed himself to run faster towards the welcoming doors of the warehouse where he knew he would be safe from his attackers. Even in his worst nightmares would he ever have imagined that the doors would suddenly swing shut. Banging his fists on the now closed doors, the little boy tried his best to open the doors; pounding his fists in desperation until his knuckles had split and blood oozed from them. The footsteps of his attackers became louder and louder, until finally they stopped. Swallowing back his fear, Soujirou turned around to come face to face with his two cousins.

"You thought you could get away huh? You're nothing but a lowly bastard child whom we took in out of the kindness of our hearts! We raised you and this is how you repay us?" Standing rooted to the ground in terror, Soujirou could not say or do anything in reply to his cousin's demand but smile.

"Still smiling eh? We'll soon fix that!" With that, the katana was swiftly brought down onto Soujirou's head…

Soujirou sat up in bed, cold sweat running down his back. Bringing a hand to his forehead, he shakily brushed back his hair and sighed. He had long since been accustomed to being blind. He didn't know for how long he had been blind, but for some reason he was not in any rush to see again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he calmed himself down.

"Nightmare again?"

Soujirou could only nod mutely in the direction of the voice of his caretaker. He heard what vaguely sounded like a sigh that came from his right. Curiousity overwhelming him, Soujirou found himself asking the one question he wanted to ask since the first day.

"Who are you? Why did you help me?"

There was a momentary silence almost as if the person the question was addressed to was reluctant to answer.

"My name's not important. After all, a name is merely but a word. It holds no significance. As for your second question, it would be the same as me asking you why do you hold a katana?"

The answer came as a surprise to Soujirou. He had never known anyone who could care so little for themselves save himself. No one had ever asked him such a question before. To him, the katana was his life, the katana was like the oxygen he breathed in. He couldn't live without it.

Before he could say anything else, he heard his caretaker ask, "Why do you have such horrific recurring nightmares?"

Soujirou just sighed and was about to ignore her question when he heard himself say, "I didn't have a good childhood. I was a bastard child and when my father died, I was left in the care of my uncle who didn't like me. He had only taken me in because he was afraid of what the neighbours would say about him."

"Like? Judging from your screams, sounds more like your uncle was planning your death everytime he saw you." Came the biting reply from his mysterious caretaker.

"I guess in a way my uncle had tried to make life as difficult for me as possible. He made me move bags of rice day and night. Both he and his two sons would beat me up for even the slightest of mistakes such as dropping the bags of rice when I got tired. Then one night, I met Shishio-sama. You see, I had just witnessed him killing two policemen. For that, he was supposed to kill me, but he was amused by the fact that I was still smiling, so he spared my life. I didn't know what to do with him, so I placed him in my uncle's warehouse. For two weeks, I would secretly pass him bandages and food. However, my uncle and his family realised that something was wrong. I overheard them saying that it was best that they killed me before my harbouring of the wanted criminal would affect their rice business."

It was a weird thing that Soujirou was feeling. It felt somewhat reassuring, as though a great gib burden was lifted from his chest. He never did like mentioning his past, but somehow he felt that this person was someone he could trust. In fact, he felt like he had known this person his whole life. It was strange. Was this the thing people called trust?

"But what my uncle didn't know was Shishio-sama had given me his katana. Along with his token of gratitude for his food and lodgings, he had told me these words…" Soujirou took a deep breath as he remembered the words that would later become his motto and his way of life just as the Juppon Gatana had become his family no matter how dysfunctional.

"The strong live and the weak die. It was because of those words that I found the remaining strength in me to take up the katana and protect myself, thereby killing my family members before they had a chance to kill me."

The stranger took in all that the rurouni had said. Indeed, the rurouni had had a hard life. Judging from the boy's relieved smile, all he needed was probably a listening ear.

"You know, there were many a time this question would always be at the back of mind, forever haunting me no matter what I do. To be honest, although I never tell anyone but deep down I never wanted to kill my uncle or his family, but I had no choice because if I didn't kill them… they would I have killed me and I was… scared…" At that point, Soujirou could feel the tears flowing down his cheeks. Chuckling softly, he wiped the tears laughing at the irony of things. Here he was, a blind rurouni pouring his heart out to some stranger he didn't know and yet he still felt at ease.

He was surprised when he felt the weight of someone else on the tatami mat. He was even more surprised when he felt a pair of arms embrace him and a warm gentle voice that said, "Daijoubu, You don't have to be alone anymore. Just cry as much as you want to."

Shocked, Soujirou closed his eyes and cried his heart out as he rested his head on the person's shoulders. The night gave way to dawn as the rays of the sun shown down to reveal the picture of Soujirou leaning on the shoulders of a figure dressed entirely in white, a warm smile on his face.

**(A/N: And that's chapter 3 folks! Hope you guys liked it, this chapter was particularly hard to rewrite. Well, remember to review. Cya all in the next chapter!)**


	5. Chapter 4: Recovery

**Seed of Hope  
****Chapter 4: Recovery **

**(A/N: Chapter 4! Yay! I shan't waste anymore words here. On with the chapter!)**

Soujirou rubbed his eyes. Another day spent in darkness. Turning his head this way and that, he heard nothing. His caretaker was not there. How many days or rather weeks had passed since that day he was kicked of that so called restaurant?

"Welcome home." Soujirou said when he heard the familiar sliding of the shoji doors and the shuffling of tabi-covered feet.

"My, aren't we up early today? The sun has just risen."

Chuckling, Soujirou just smiled at the mysterious caretaker. He had long since been accustomed to his caretaker's sarcasm. Still nursing a broken left arm, the boy was still unable to feed himself. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had awoken early because he had felt hungry and was eagerly awaiting breakfast. He ignored the laughter of his caretaker when his stomach gave a loud growl.

"Should have known it was your stomach that would have made you get up so early."

"Here, open your mouth."

Soujirou did as he was told. He slowly chewed the rice in his mouth, savouring the taste of it in his mouth. Swallowing, he was fed until he had finished the entire contents of the bowl.

"Ok, medicine time. Open wide."

Soujirou made a face. Although he had been eating the medicine for quite some time, he still couldn't get used to the taste of the medicine. After all who could, the medicine tasted disgusting!

Like his meal, the liquid was fed to him spoon after spoon. Swallowing down the medicine, he ignored the bitter taste of it in his mouth.

"It's not so bad. Without it, you would not have survived for so long."

Chuckling, he gulped down the bowl of water which he held in his uninjured right hand, glad to rid his mouth of the terrible taste. Lying back down on the tatami mat, he thought about the nightmares he used to have. He no longer had them anymore, at least not since that fateful day he had revealed his entire past to his mysterious caretaker. He pondered about what he knew about his caretaker, what did he knew about this mysterious person anyways?

He knew that this person gave him a sense of security, he felt reassured whenever he or she was around, he was grateful for his or her taking care of him. But these were just feelings he felt for this mysterious person, he didn't know anything about this person! Thinking hard, he tried once again to gather any information or clue as to what his caretaker was like… nothing.

Sighing, Soujirou silently gave in. His caretaker was a mystery on its own. To solve such a mystery would require more strength than his weakened body could give. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach. Placing his right hand on his abdomen, he tried to see if the strange sensation would come back, but there was nothing. Dismissing it, Soujirou made to stand up. His sprained right ankle had long since healed and now he longed for the feeling of the breeze upon his cheeks. He longed for the outside world.

Gently getting up, he paused for a while to catch his breath. It had been a long while since he had stood up and his leg muscles were weak. His legs trembling slightly from the weight of his body, he slowly moved forward two steps, ignoring the dizziness and the pounding of his head. He slowly inched another step forward hoping that maybe his caretaker wouldn't catch him out of bed. He stopped again to look out for any sign that would give him away. He did this several times, inch a step forward, stop, listen and then inch another step forward.

He really did not know where he was going, but he was hoping that maybe he would somehow come across a wall of some sort and then from there find the door that would lead him outside. Luck was on his side, he could feel the cold surface of the wall in front of him. How many steps had he taken from the mat? Resolved to find the door, the youth slowly inched towards the left using the wall as a support. Walking was now much easier and faster now that he had something to lean against.

This was absurd, he was the former Tenken no Soujirou and here he was relying on a wall to walk when others used to fear his shukuchi. Oh the irony of life. Soujirou continued on his perilous journey, ignoring the pounding of his head and his legs and back screaming for the comforts of his warm tatami mat. The pounding in his head was now getting louder and louder. He could hear the frantic beating of his heart in his ear and his head was hurting more than ever, but he knew he had to persevere. Somehow, luck had left him and he tripped over his own feet.

The loud thump must have alerted his caretaker because next he could hear the frantic scurrying of feet on wood.

"Why did you get out of bed? You're not ready yet!" Came the worried voice of the mysterious person.

Quickly, Soujirou found himself being dragged back to the mat and covered with a blanket.

"Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"

Soujirou felt something akin to what he had heard people call guilt. He really didn't mean for his caretaker to be so worried. He had felt strong enough to go outside, he had just accidentally tripped on his way out.

"No, I'm fine. Its ok, I just feel a little bit giddy. I'll be alright." Soujirou reassured. He felt alright, alright save for the terrible throbbing in his head.

He felt the warmth of someone else's skin on his forehead.

"Oh no, not now!"

Soujirou heard the fear and worry in his caretaker's voice.

"Wh-what? What happened?" It was not like his caretaker to sound so scared.

"You're going to have to brace yourself. It's like I thought. Your getting up had caused the poison to enter your heart faster. The poison that man gave you is a slow-reacting one. It takes weeks to finally rid one of it. Your sense of sight is the first thing to go when you are infected by it. I now have to give you the full dosage of the medicine to quell your fever and to stop as much of the poison as I possibly can. However, the side effect of this medicine is that by purging your body of the poison, you'll be forced to relive your worst nightmares while experiencing a pain even worse than death until you wake up."

Soujirou listened to this with a heavy heart. If it had to be done, then he had no choice had he? He gingerly nodded his head in consent, scared to move his head more in case it aggravated his headache even more.

"Brace yourself."

Closing his eyes, Soujirou was placed in a sitting position as he felt a cool liquid enter his mouth. The liquid had no taste, but as it entered his throat it suddenly felt like he was swallowing pins and needles and he had to force himself to swallow it. Lying back down, he felt the pounding in his head increase in tempo and he had to bite his lip from crying out loud in pain. His whole body felt like it was on fire and yet at the same time, he was shivering and trembling with cold. He found it hard to breathe; his throat felt very dry and he kept on coughing and coughing until he felt extremely breathless.

The figure watched in white as the boy writhed and squirmed in pain. There was nothing to be done except wait. How everything turned out now depended on the will of Soujirou, otherwise…

Soujirou drew laboured breath after laboured breath. He did his best to ignore the pain, concentrating hard on other things. He tried to remember the feeling of traveling on the road again, the feeling of relief when he lost to Himura-san. He vaguely felt something cold being placed on his head and what felt like another blanket placed on top of him. For a while, the pain seemed to subside and he could breathe properly, but the pain would come back later in all its intensity and he would find himself coughing and breathless again.

The figure watched tirelessly over Soujirou as the boy gave another scream as he woke from his troubled sleep. It gently replaced the wet cloth on Soujirou's forehead and tucked back one of the stray locks of hair from his face. It was now past midnight and Soujirou's condition still showed no change. It didn't know if Soujirou could sustain the pain for so long. The cough alone was terrible, making Soujirou extremely breathless and exhausted. Luckily the cough soon subsided only to give way to the start of his terrible nightmares. The boy's screams were enough to alert an entire village 200 miles away. Even worse, despite awaking from the nightmares he would still be hallucinating.

"Come on, don't give in. I know you can do it. Don't give in. Stay strong," The figure watched as Soujirou twitched in pain and hesitantly gave Soujirou a kiss on the cheek, "You can do it."

The night wore on slowly as the figure watched over Soujirou, praying for his safety.

**(A/N: Ok, don't kill me! This chapter plays a very important part in the fic! Do not worry! Soujirou will not die! I repeat, Soujirou WILL NOT DIE! I mean, if he dies how will I continue the fic right? So review now or I will be forced to do otherwise! Muahahahahaha!)**


	6. Chapter 5: As Long As You're With Me

**Seed of Hope  
****Chapter 5: As Long As You're with Me**

Soujirou looked up to the sky. It had been a good two years since and he was now back on the road once more. Smiling at the familiar scene before him and taking in the sights and sounds of the place he had come to know so well, he realised he was back again in Kyoto. As he walked on under the warm midday sun, he could feel the memories of that summer long gone return to him as he walked past the inn which he had awaken in.

Opening his eyes, Soujirou brought his right hand up to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun. Light? For a while Soujirou didn't know what to do. It had been sometime since he last saw the light of the day and he looked around him in surprise, slowly taking in his surroundings. He didn't know if he should be elated that he could see again.

"Oh… you've awaken. Good!"

Soujirou excitedly turned his head; he could at last uncover the identity of his caretaker! He adjusted himself on the tatami mat to see an old lady smiling kindly at him, her hands holding a bowl in his hands.

"You poor boy, you've been sleeping for five days now. Are you feeling better?"

Soujirou felt confused. No, this wasn't the person who had been looking after him. It couldn't be. The voice didn't sound the same. No… this couldn't be his caretaker… could it?

During his three-month long stay at the old lady's house, question after question plagued him but he remained quiet, quelling his curiousity and ignoring the burning desire in him to find the truth. Only when he was ready to leave, had he asked the old lady whom he had affectionately referred to as 'Baa-chan'

"Baa-chan, were you the one who had always been looking after me?"

"What? Oh no, it wasn't me. " The old lady said, shaking her head dismissively. "You were brought to me, to my tiny inn."

"Brought? But who brought me here?"

Soujirou blinked as he narrowly missed being knocked by a carriage. He never got an answer to that question. Baa-chan never gave him one except for an enigmatic smile and a big hug before he was pushed out of the door struggling under his heavy load- a big bag filled with food for the journey ahead compliments of Baa-chan.

Walking along the streets of Kyoto, Soujirou turned to look at a road that he had never seen before. Had there always been a road there? Soujirou looked at the road again. The path lead to the forest, a path seldom took by travelers. Soujirou looked again. There was something about that path; it almost seemed as if it was beckoning, calling out to him. Mesmerised, Soujirou found himself responding to the call and before long he was walking along that very same path, enjoying the cool breeze and the shade of the trees. Looking ahead, Soujirou found a small clearing just up ahead. Curiousity getting the better of him, he decided to explore the place after all; there was nothing to lose right?

Smiling once more, the 22-year-old pushed back a tree branch that was in his way as he stepped into the open to find himself staring at a small wooden house. The house wasn't very special, but there was something about the house that Soujirou could not place his finger on. It was almost as if he felt like he knew the house, but that couldn't be possible he had never come here before.

He knew what he had to do. He had not count on coming back to Kyoto once more, but he knew that something was telling him that he was close to finding his answer. His search would soon come to an end.

Just then, Soujirou heard what sounded like footsteps and instinctively hid himself behind the tree to his right. He watched as the figure walk past him and into the house. Soujirou waited for a while and then walked up to the house himself. Soujirou slowly slid the shoji door open. He knew what he was doing was extremely rude and had Yumi-san been alive, she would have screamed at him for not asking for permission to enter first.

He watched as the figure in white scurried about doing the usual household chores but ignored his presence. Somehow Soujirou got the feeling that the stranger knew he was there, but just ignored him. Soujirou watched in amusement as the figure in white struggled to ignore him as the number of completed household chores increased in number.

Finally running out of things to do, the figure had no choice but to acknowledge the presence of a certain rurouni.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

Soujirou smiled. He finally got the person's attention. "Don't you remember me?"

The figure seemed to stare at Soujirou for a while before shaking its head.

Soujirou walked closer to the figure in white.

"What do you want from me?" The figure was now trembling. It didn't know what Soujirou was going to do to and was scared.

Soujirou lifted a hand to touch the hood of the white cloak. "Will you let me see your face?"

The figure quickly ducked to avoid being revealed. Frantic it ran further away from Soujirou.

"No, you can't!"

The figure sat down. "I can't let anyone see my face. Please understand this."

Sighing the figure continued, "I never told this to anyone, but I was cursed ever since the day I was born. You see, my mother's parents died when she was little. Left with no other relative, she was forced to stay with her grandmother. She was very beautiful, however everyone was afraid of her. For the people of the town believed that both she and my grandmother practiced black magic. On the day of my mother's sixteenth birthday, she met my father who didn't know about her. The two fell deeply in love, but my mother knew that the happiness wouldn't last because my father was engaged to be married to another lady. Then the day came when my mother found out that she was pregnant with me. She was afraid that the lady whom was to be engaged to my father would find out and so she secretly left to find the mid-wife. Unfortunately she was discovered. Exhausted from the journey both mentally and physically, my mother placed a curse on me so that no one would dare to kill me or in other words look me in the face because you would become blind."

Soujirou listened to the stranger's tale. It was hard to believe such a tale after all did curses still exist? Smiling, Soujirou walked up to the figure.

"I have been searching for something, maybe even searching for my whole life for an answer. An answer to my loneliness, to this emptiness and now I have found it. That person is you. I want to share my life with you." With that, Soujirou walked up to the figure and held its hands. "I already know what's it like to live life blind, but I cannot spend my life without you."

The figure watched entranced by Soujirou's words as Soujirou lifted a hand to remove the hood, to reveal a young maiden of 20 with ebony dark tresses and emerald eyes.

"But how…"

"There never was a curse, your mother did it only to protect you… Misao

"How… how did you know my name?"

To that question Soujirou could only grin and answer, "You learn lots of things when you travel."

_**Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine**_

_**I'm leaving my life in your hands**_

_**People say I'm crazy and that I am blind**_

_**Risking it all in a glance**_

_**And how you got me blind is still a mystery**_

_**I can't get you out of my head**_

_**Don't care what is written in your history**_

_**As long as you're here with me**_

Bending down to close the distance between the two, Soujirou kissed her gently on the lips to seal his love for her.

_**I don't care who you are**_

_**Where you're from**_

_**What you did**_

_**As long as you love me**_

_**Who you are**_

_**Where you're from**_

_**Don't care what you did**_

_**As long as you love me**_

"Misao, as long as you're with me it won't matter if I'm blind or not. Just as long as you stay with me.

**Owari**

**(A/N: WHEE! MERRY X'MAS YOU ALL! This is the end of the fic! Hope you all liked it! Maybe one day I may rewrite the ending cos I don't think it's really working out but still thanks for supporting this fic! Merry x'mas and peace on earth! Review!)**


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